Current Barnard Student here. :)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Barnard College
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<p>Hi, thanks to one of the administrators for directing me here, I’ve come to see if any prospective students had any questions for a current Barnard junior. I am studying History (European concentration), with possible minors in Sociology and French. I’m also very active on campus as a Resident Assistant, which means I come in contact with every department and office that the College offers. I plan on joining the Peace Corps after graduation and perhaps studying law afterwards. </p>

<p>While I can’t assess your chances of getting in, I’d be happy to answer questions regarding life on campus, the Barnard-Columbia relationship, coursework, etc…</p>

<p>Thanks and good luck! :)</p>

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<p>hi stillbits, i'm just wondering how you would describe the difference between barnard and columbia college? what is uniquely different about barnard (other than the obvious single sex issue)? how would you characterize the typical barnard student as opposed to a female student at columbia? thanks.</p>

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<p>Hi fairburn, well, there are various angles I could tackle these questions, like in terms of campus life or academics, so I'll try my best to cover as much as I can. The difference between Barnard and Columbia in terms of campus life is not great at all. Columbia and Barnard students have access to all the facilities and resources of both colleges. Columbia students join Barnard clubs and Barnard students join Columbia clubs. Despite having different meal plans, Barnard students can eat at Columbia dining facilities (with a few restrictions), and Columbia students can do the same at Barnard. The only major barrier between the two student bodies is a result of administrative disagreement, which is the hot on-campus topic of "swipe access". Barnard and Columbia students do not have direct CUID access to each other's dorms. Barnard students have to sign in a Columbia student and vice versa. This is mainly for security purposes and is only a minor inconvenience. Overall, Barnard and Columbia exchange resources freely and easily. Most students don't feel any different from a student of the other college. And in terms of academics, there is no difference at all. We take the same classes, write the same papers, take the same exams, dwell in the same libraries every weekend, and have the same professors. We benefit from the same institutions, so there's no difference at all.</p>

<p>Do you mean what is uniquely different about Barnard from other colleges or from Columbia in particular? Well, in terms of other LACs, Barnard is definitely the most unique institution in America, in my opinion. It is a small LAC with all the resources of a large research university and not to mention, the center of the universe -- NYC. No, it's not just an admissions office gimic -- it's true! Barnard students benefit greatly from the various institutes and departments at Columbia. For example, Barnard students have complete access to all the special programs that Columbia departments hold during the academic year, from the Columbia Business School's discussion on the Chinese market to the Columbia-Barnard History Departments' joint presentation on the Armenian Masscare. With the Columbia-Barnard partnership, the true winners here are the students. When you have double the resources, you have double the rewards. And if you're an Art History or History student, Barnard and Columbia professors encourage you to go explore the many museums of the city as often as you can, whereas tourists can only go once in a lifetime. ;) There's also an on-campus program called 'Urban New York', which is a lottery system that gives away FREE tickets to NYC events, from Knicks games to Broadway shows like 'Hairspray'. And here's where being a Barnard student can have major advantages as well. Columbia students, with SEAS and CC combined, far outnumber Barnard students. Since Barnard always has a fixed amount of reserved tickets for its own students, many Columbia students find themselves empty-handed each semester, whereas participating Barnard students can always get something -- even if it's not their first choice, it's something.</p>

<p>Aside from better chances of getting free tickets, there are also other benefits of being a Barnard student as opposed to Columbia. This is not to be taken as an insult to Columbia students at all though -- it's really a matter of preference in terms of how you want your campus life to feel. Since Barnard is a smaller institution, it has a smaller structure of administrative offices. This means less red tape for you as a student and that office staff can actually recognize and better help you. Departments are smaller and more personal. But again, remember, size isn't everything. The quality of Barnard professors are equal to or better than Columbia professors. I've also found that they are much nicer and approachable. Smaller class size means more one-on-one attention and more opportunities to get to know your professor. When you're at Barnard, you get a sense that there's a lot of pride here, and it's true. Barnard women are very proud to be Barnard women and of the past women who graced this campus. The community here is incredible; I've never met a body of women who cared so much for each other. I don't think this sort of mentality is the same at Columbia because it's such a big institution. One is not worse than the other because it all comes down to your personal preference. If you don't mind going to a larger university and don't really care for the community feeling, then Columbia would be just fine too.</p>

<p>A typical Barnard student and a typical female Columbia student... Well, there's not much difference on the surface, I can tell you that. Women from both schools are equally smart and witty. But in my experience, I've always found Barnard women to be more interesting and approachable. I don't know how to explain it, but I get a feeling that the Barnard admissions office, apart from boosting its numbers, makes an effort to build a diverse student body. I've always found Barnard women to hold a diverse range of interests and to have a lot of ambition and idealism for the world. Overall though, there's not much difference between women from both schools.</p>

<p>Hope that helps!</p>

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<p>Hey, stillbits...glad to see you here on the Barnard board! Thanks for your detailed and insightful post above!</p>

<p>One major difference between being a CC and A Barnard student which is probably so obvious to you (but may not be so to a prospective student) is the requirement of the CORE curriculum for CC as opposed to the Nine Ways of Knowing (a much different way of "structuring" basic academic requirements for degree completion) at Barnard.</p>

<p>The fairly restrictive and rigorous requirements of the Core at CC may hold appeal for some but are in fact VERY different from Barnard's "nine ways". </p>

<p>Thanks again for being here to answer questions!!!</p>

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<p>Thanks, churchmusicmom, for all your kind words and warm welcome! I'm glad to be of any assistance to aspiring Barnardians. :)</p>

<p>Oh, of course! How can I forget the Core Curriculum vs. Nine Ways of Knowing argument? ;) Like churchmusicmom said, the Core Curriculum is constructed with a specific list of courses for each Columbia student to take before s/he graduates. Most Columbia students find themselves taking at least one or two each semester. These courses cover all the classic texts, like Homer and Herodotus, music, art, and some other subjects. From what I've heard, Columbia students have a hell of a time with these classes. They're long, boring, and only cover the surface of each major piece of work. A Columbia guy once told me that for each major text he is assigned to read, he reads only enough to be able to carry on a shallow conversation at a dinner party. I get the feeling that a lot of Columbia students would rather take other courses to fulfill their requirements.</p>

<p>And this is where the Nine Ways of Knowing wins, hands down. The Nine Ways of Knowing, which you can read about on the Barnard website, is not constructed with a specific list of courses. Although courses are designated by the College as to whether or not they fit a requirement, the list for each is very, very long and diverse. And you can easily fit them into your major requirements. (Core classes don't fulfill any major requirements that I know of for Columbia students.) For example, I took three history courses and subsequently crossed off three requirements. The requirements are flexible and easy to fulfill. This gives you an immense amount of freedom in choosing the courses that you actually want to take. Once again, Barnard women win! :) What I liked even more about this system was that I was able to take Symbolic Logic, instead of Calculus, to fulfill my "math" requirement. Not that it was any easier, but at least I didn't have to figure out derivatives and draw graphs! :D And as for the classic texts, Barnard women aren't missing out because they can easily take other courses that cover the same material. For my first-year seminar and English courses (both of which are required for Barnard first-years), we went through roughly the same material as the Core Curriculum literature courses, from The Iliad to the Canterbury Tales, and of course with some prominent Barnard writers thrown in as well, like Zora Neale Hurston.</p>

<p>And lastly, though this may not be a big deal for a lot of people and it just seems peculiar to me, Columbia students have to pass a swimming test in order to graduate. Why? I have no idea. lol. But Barnard students don't have to go through this.</p>

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<p>Hi stillbits!</p>

<p>I am a prospective student of Barnard College and a rising senior. Barnard is by FAR my first choice and I am 100% sure that I want to apply ED.</p>

<p>I am also (and this is where the title of my reply comes into play :) VERY interested in majoring in history... with an emphasis in European Studies! I saw this program on the Barnard website when researching majors and was so excited by the fact that it was one of the only schools I've found that has a specific program dedicated to this facet of history, not just an option to concentrate in it. </p>

<p>What is your opinion of the Barnard (and Columbia, too, while you're at it!) history department? Also do you find the teachers' curriculum to be very politicized? I am coming from San Francisco so I'm (unfortunately) not exactly inexperienced with political opinion invading classroom discussion, but this has been one thing I've heard (and that's worried me) in my reading about Barnard's history dept. so your opinion would be extremely valued!</p>

<p>Thanks so much :)</p>

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<p>Hi, consumedbyapps! I actually applied ED too. What are the odds? lol. Yes, the European Studies program seems really great! If I was more confident in my French skills earlier, I probably would've gone down that route. But I'm still glad that I'm majoring in History because I can branch out into other areas of history, like the MidEast or China. With European Studies, you'd have to concentrate on a specific country, like Britain or France, and proceed to study its literature, politics, etc.. For me, that would have been too narrow of a field. Furthermore, with history, everything is connected, so it's necessary to examine as many areas as you can.</p>

<p>Anyway, I digress... The short answer to your question is -- I love the Columbia and Barnard History Departments. I've taken courses with both departments and have never disliked any professor or TA. Every one of my professors recognized and knew me walking down the street, even in classes where there were 100 people. Professors made an effort to learn our names and to make enough time for us to answer all of our questions. Their enthusiasm and their knowledge in the discipline is undeniable, and I'm always in awe of how much they know. The curriculum is challenging but rewarding. A lot of people have asked me if history exams consist of multiple choice and matching, and I tell them I've NEVER taken a history exam like that. All exams consists of essays and paragraph answers. The information knows no bounds. The only downside is that there isn't enough time to cover everything! I always wish I could just sit down and pick their brains. :)</p>

<p>As for politics... Are you referring to the MEALAC scandal from a couple years ago? Other than that, I haven't heard of any history professors' political agenda interferring with the coursework... And I'd also take what you may have heard from that scandal with a grain of salt. I can say for a fact that none of the history professors I've had politicized their curriculum. They are always open to different opinions and encourage us to open a dialogue on sensitive topics. I took a course on the two World Wars, and my professor was German. He even helped me with research for my paper on German public opinion during the Nazi era. I also took the History of the Middle East with Palestinian professor Rashid Khalidi, who caused some upstir when he was appointed to the MidEAst Institute at Columbia. And while there will be people who tell you that his course is filled with political agenda, I went to class everyday, loved every minute, and never felt as if he was pushing his political agenda on the students. He was always pleasant, knowledgeable, and supported his argument with ample evidence. Of course, he had his biases (can you blame him?) but he was as fair as any professor on the subject could get. If you come to Barnard, I highly recommend that you take this course because it will completely open your eyes.</p>

<p>If you're planning on majoring in European studies, then you'll surely take the two Intro courses taught by Professor Valenze (who is also my advisor!) and Professor Tiersten, who are both VERY VERY knowledgeable and SO nice!! Professor Tiersten talks fast, so be prepared to bring your laptop to take notes! :)</p>

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<p>You make me want to hid in my kid's suitcase and go to class with her this fall!</p>

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<p>Hahaha! You should definitely try sitting in on one of her classes during Parents' Weekend. There are tons of lifelong learners (aka older auditors) in lecture courses, and I intend to become one of them in the future. :)</p>

<p>As I don't work for the admissions office, I feel obliged to tell both sides of the story, and not let prospective students perceive Barnard through rose-colored glasses. There are many things I wish I'd known as a prospective before coming to Barnard that nobody had told me, so I want to reveal some of my personal gripes toward the College. Don't get me wrong though -- I love attending Barnard, but like every other college, it has its fair share of blemishes.</p>

<p>First of all, Barnard is stingy. This is a well-known fact among Barnard students and sadly, nothing can and will be done about it in the near future. I don't know if any of you have compared the yearly Columbia costs to Barnard costs, but if I remember correctly, Barnard is always a few thousand G's more expensive than Columbia. This seems preposterous to me (and many others) because one cannot deny the fact that Columbia, with more funding, has better facilities which are also better maintained. Barnard tuition alone rose almost $4,000 for this upcoming academic year. And yet, I would probably give our classroom condition a 'B' at best. Admissions tour guides never take prospective students through the Tunnels because of its delapidated condition. And they always show prospectives dorm rooms in Sulzberger Hall because it's the newest and most maintained dorm. It is also one of the three residence halls with air conditioning. If you walk around the quad to Reid, Hewitt, and worst of all, Brooks Halls, you'll find buildings that are not as well kept as they should be. They don't look horrible, but they could be better. And with the amount that they charge for Housing, it definitely could be a lot better. Barnard likes to attribute these shortcomings to low alumnae giving, but I don't know if I really buy that argument.</p>

<p>Our library technology would receive a 'B' as well. I used work in the computer lab and I don't know how many times students would come up to us to complain about the e-mail system being down; whereas the Columbia system rarely experiences downtime. That being said, Barnard doesn't have much of an infrastructure on its own and depends largely on Columbia.</p>

<p>Aside from financial aspects of the College, for administrative procedures, I would probably give a 'C'. Barnard is somewhat technologically challenged and seems apprehensive of trusting technology to quickly and efficiently take care of matters. (I sometimes half-jokingly attribute this to too much estrogen and X chromosomes because I think of older women who still refuse to buy products online with their credit cards.) Instead, Barnard relies on good old-fashioned "stand-in-line-and-wait-your-turn-and-subsequently-waste-your-time" methods. I previously mentioned the 'Urban New York' program, but I neglected to mention the fact that participating Barnard students have to wake up at 5:30am the day of the lottery, stand in line (often in the cold March weather) and wait until they give out numbers at 8am, after which you must return at 12pm, stand in line again, and then choose your activity. Now wouldn't this be easier if done online?? The same goes for L-course sign-ups. Columbia students are given designated time slots to sign up for L-courses online, whereas Barnard students must stand in line early in the morning outside of the Registrar's office to do so.</p>

<p>I also must warn prospectives of how difficult it sometimes is to get anything done. This is true for most colleges and not unique only to Barnard though. But I've found that you need to find the right people to help you, which in turn will save you a lot of time and stress. For example, if you want to deal with financial aid, go straight to Karin Diamond of Financial Aid (usually through e-mail) because like any bureaucracy, messages get lost even before the messenger leaves the post. Better to take it straight to the person you're looking for. But there are some offices that are just difficult to deal with no matter what you do. And I probably shouldn't be saying this, but I'll admit that ResLife is the worst bureaucracy on campus. Beware of this one -- it's fickle, holds ambiguous policies, and might even slap some undeserving fines on you at the end of the year! Even as an RA, I sometimes get mixed directions and signals from the office, which leads to a lot of confusion and frustration for myself and my residents. (I will be told to say one thing, but then my residents will come back from the office saying they heard the complete opposite.) Just remember to clean your room as much as you possibly can before you move out at the end of the year. ResLife looks to the naivet</p>

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<p>Hey Stillbits. Can you share your experiences with Move In Day? Oh and thank you for providing your wisdom :)</p>

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<p>It's late and I am NOT stillbits, but I can say that our experience moving our daughter in last year was very good (aside from the, you know, emotional part at the end...).</p>

<p>We had to DRIVE a very long way (from Atlanta, GA) and were quite concerned with having to bring a good bit of stuff up to move in all at once. I know my daughter was pretty worried about bringing too much. We had all of her things packed pretty carefully in plastic bins, though, so it was easy to unload and to stack. We pulled up EARLY (before the time they assign you...you can arrive as early as you want that day...the earliest time possible) and were met with several smiling CU students eager to help unload her things into her designated square (drawn in chalk) on the sidewalk in front of Barnard. </p>

<p>There you wait (or your parent will wait with your stuff) while you go and pick up your romm key and all of your orientation info and stuff. Then, soon some more orientation "elves" will come with rolling laundry carts to help you move all of your stuff into your room. I was actually amazed at the effeciency of it all! And my daughter did NOT bring too much stuff...the orientation workers actually were quite impressed with her organizational skills....(or at least they gave that impression...which helped!).</p>

<p>And there were vendors on campus in case you need to rent a fridge (as well as other things I can't recall at the moment). There will be meetings and things for you to go to with and without your parents and then a very specific time for your parents to say goodbye. Encourage them to make fun plans in the city that night. We did! That helps a lot!!</p>

<p>Have fun.....</p>

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<p>
[quote]
There you wait (or your parent will wait with your stuff) while you go and pick up your room key and all of your orientation info and stuff.

[/quote]
I'm kind of confused.... my d. will probably be arriving by taxi, possibly all by herself. In other words she may not have anyone who can wait with her stuff while she leaves it unattended on the sidewalk. Is that going to be a problem?</p>

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<p>No, don't worry about that. There are clearly outlined areas on the sidewalk for each person's things and there are lots of "helpers" around who will watch her things for her. Also, she can ask the people in the "square" next to hers. I am sure it will be fine!</p>

<p>I was quite pleased with how very, very helpful everyone was and at how smoothly it all went. Your daughter is going to have a wonderful, wonderful experience. Tell her to ENJOY that week of orientation! My daughter met some of her very best friends that week....</p>

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<p>Calmom, I think your daughter can ask one of the orientation buddies to watch her stuff. They'd be more than happy to help out that way. It doesn't take that long to get the key, so it shouldn't be a problem.</p>

<p>Stephanie, Churchmusicmom covered a good chunk. :) All in all, it's a pretty hectic day. It will go by fast and you will be very tired at the end. You won't have as much time with your parents as you think, and it's going to go by fast as you will be doing A LOT of things, so if you were planning on spending some quality time with them, you should do so before you come to campus. I think your parents have to leave by 3pm. Barnard has a pretty packed schedule for both you and your parents -- from a very organized sack lunch session to various lectures on security and some other subjects. You will move in, meet your roommates and your RA, and be unpacking for most of the first part of the day. After your parents leave, you will be holding a floor meeting with your RA and floormates, get to know everyone for a couple hours, and then you attend the traditional convocation ceremony, which includes all the deans and the Board of Trustees. You will hear speeches, probably one from Anna Quindlen herself. (You'll see her a lot around campus.) And then there's College Night, where the first-year RAs do some sketches and dance routines, and you build a lot of spirit with your new friends.</p>

<p>Of course, in between all this, there's a lot of small stuff too, like a small discussion session with your Orientation Leader and Group, eating free food, hanging around, etc. I would try to rent a fridge before you get to campus. They send you a brochure of a fridge-renting service a few weeks befre you arrive on campus. It would just make your life a lot easier once you get on campus if your fridge was already waiting for you. And just an insider's tip, you will probably never see your Orientation Leader again after Orientation, so that's not really a big deal of the whole Orientation. They're really just there for a few days to look after things while the RAs take a break. And you won't really establish any friendships within your Orietnation Group either unless you have a good and reliable Orientation Leader. Your OL is supposed to take you out for breakfast or lunch at least once during Orientation Week to build your friendships, but if they bail out (like mine did), it's not as rewarding of an experience as the administrators might want you to think.</p>

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<p>Hello stillbits, I'm going to be living in Brooks as a first-year soon, could you tell me what it's like and what's the difference between the first-year halls? Thanks!</p>

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<p>Hi, Sammiee-</p>

<p>Well, all first-years live in the Quad, which consists of Sulzberger, Reid, Brooks, and Hewitt, except Hewitt is only for upperclassmen because it is made of singles. Sulzberger, which is the dorm I lived in, is by far the best one because it's the newest and has air conditioning. Brooks, I personally believe, is the worst. But this is all relative. It's not terrible, but it's the oldest building in the Quad. However, the up side is that the rooms are relatively big. BUT, it's mostly made of quads and doubles. I think the quads aren't that bad though because it's basically two doubles with a common room in the middle. The bathrooms are nice -- clean and well kept, but that also depends on the cleanliness of your floormates. The hallways are kind of like dungeons, but I think you get used to it. I think Brooks is nice for first-years in terms of meeting people because you only have around 15 floormates, so it's intimate and you meet people easily. It's easier to develop friendships when you have an intimate group of people. I would say the same for Sulz, the short side. (Usually the RAs are divided into one for the short side of Sulz, one for Sulz and Reid, and one for Brooks.)</p>

<p>I'm not quite sure about the condition of the room because I have never been inside a Brooks room. I have only seen them from the hallways briefly. So I can't be of much help there. Sorry!</p>

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<p>Thanks so much stillbits. I'll be living in a quad this year. After posting my message I went back and read a previous post about Brooks being the worst and I was like "uh-oh!" but I think it will be okay. =)</p>

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<p>me again. Sorry, I know I am a mom, but my daughter did live in Brooks last year. She was in a triple with two rooms and the beds were in one and desks in the other. My kid LOVES her roomies from last year and even though they will not be rooming together again this year, they plan on doing things together still (continue the tradition of "Gilmore Girls night"!). The rooms are quite small and Brooks, of course is old. Their bedroom had a bay window and was on the upper-most floor of the bay and it leaked when there was melting snow or a heavy rain. The other room had a (non-functioning) fireplace that they loved for the "atmosphere". My kid was pretty excited about it all, even given the smallness of it all and the oldness of the building. I guess you can pretty much decide to be happy about it if you want!</p>

<p>Also, they had a pretty good amount of storage, though that varies a bit from room to room, I understand.</p>

<p>Just enjoy!!!</p>

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<p>Thank you Stillbits and Churchmusicmom! That cleared up a lot! Just another question. Do you happen to know if the 5th floor of Reid is one of the floors that had the bathrooms renovated? Thanks again :)</p>

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<p>not a clue, but I will try to ask my daughter if she knows when she gets home later on this evening...</p>